Franz Ferdinand & Sparks Share ‘Piss Off,’ First Song From Collaborative Album

A still from the Franz Ferdinand and Sparks (FFS) video for “Domino Effect.”

COURTESY PHOTO

Scottish indie rockers Franz Ferdinand and lorn-running L.A. art rockers Sparks have released the first song from their upcoming collaborative album, FFS (coming June 8 via Domino). This is pretty random, yes, but we promise it’s not an April Fools’ joke — the two groups announced this project some time ago.

The first song they’ve shared is titled “Piss Off,” a track that trades Franz Ferdinand’s usual choppy guitars for some choppy piano. FF’s Alex Kapranos trades lead vocal duties with Sparks’ Russell Mael.

According to the NME, the two bands had talked about collaborating for almost a decade before finally recording in 2014.

“We approached it the way bands do with their first record,” Franz Alex Kapranos said. “We had the songs first, rehearsed them and then recorded it all together, in a room. So no hanging around or fannying about.

The album was produced by indie superstar John Congleton, who recently manned the boards for St. Vincent’s self-titled album and Cloud Nothings’Here and Nowhere Else.

So far, FFS has only announced a handful of European tour dates, beginning June 16 in Scotland.

Check out the track listing, which ironically includes a song called “Collaborations Don’t Work”: